Machine for relasting shoes



' May 12, 1925.

E. 1. LA CHAPELLE MACHINE FOR RELASTING SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 27, 1920 l YT L5 May 12, 1925. v 1,537,683

E. l. LA CHAPELLE MACHINE FOR RELASTING SHOES Filed March 27, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 May I23,

inner i EUCLID 1. LA CHAPELLE, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR BELASTING SHOES.

Application filed March 27, 1920. Serial Ila-369,313.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EUCLID I. LA Univ rnLLn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, res1ding in Brockton, county of Plymouth, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented vcertain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Itelasting Shoes, of which the following is av specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying the same and forming a part thereof;

This invention relates to machines for rev placing shoes on lasts in a better, easier and more rapid manner than heretofore possible. This invention, however, has for a particular object the replacing of turn shoes on lasts.

In the manufacture of all kinds of shoes that require a relasting operation, it is now the universal practice to perform the relasting operation by hand; the last upon which the shoe is to, be replaced being held in inverted position by a last pin while the shoe is being forced thereon but, in the case of turn shoes, the relasting operation'is performed in the following manner:

After the shoe has been turned right side out, the relaster inserts to the inside bottom portion of the shoe, a filler, so-called, to which paste has been previously applied to hold the same to the sole and thereafter a shank-piece is inserted and. nailed on to the sole. Then, the relaster dips the lastinto powdered chalk and inserts the forepart of the last partly into the forepart of the shoe and then he holds the forepart of the shoe and the corresponding forepart of the last within the shoe and he strikes, several times, the heel-end of the last quite forcibly against the end of a so-called relasting-post, which is usually padded with sole leather t: overcome thereby, as much aspossiblc the breaking of the last. Thus, the toe-end of the last is gradually forced towardthe toe-cud of the shoe and the shoe forepart relasting operation is completed when the toe-end of the shoe and the toc-end of the last finally meet.

'lhereafter, the heel part of the shoe is'relasted by setting the last on a last pin and by inserting a shoe heel relasting horn within the heel of the shoe and by moving, the horn with the shoe over the heel part of the last.

Relasting any kind of shoes by hand is a laborious operation. In the case of turn sho t s a n tab fa t, that more t m is required at relasting than at any other turn shoemaking operation. The filler, which as already stated, is being held by paste to the shoe sole, is oftentimes displaced and moved into the extreme toe end of the shoe under the influence of the frictional engagement of the shoe bottom and of the last bottom during the, time of the shoe .forepart relastingoperation and this, condition necessitates a last pulling operation and the-relasting operation must again take place after the filler has been re-positioned within the shoe. The shoe lining is invariably wrinkled up, more or less, toward the toe underthe influence of the frictional.

enga 'ementof the last and of the lining during the time of the shoe forepart relasting operation and this wrinkled co11dition of the lining necessitates a smoothing out operation which requires much time and which is performed by means of athin flexible strip of steel inserted between the last and the, lining, after the entire shoe has been relasted, and which is .manipulated to spread out the lining rearwardly. Moreover, lasts are oftenbroken, or flattened and thereby shortened appreciably at the heel-end when the forepart is being relasted,

This invention contemplates overcoming the objections noted and contemplates facilitating and making the relasting. operation, of all kinds of shoes,less laborious.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a side relasting 1nachine.-

Fig. 2 isa plan View of said machine.

Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing the operating slide.

Fig. 4 sh we the position of the; members carried by said slide with relation .togthe last and in readiness to receive the shoe.

Fig. 5 shows the forepart of the shoe partly'inserted on thelast.

Fig. 6 shows theshoe engaging arms, as when held against the solo by the operator.

Figs. 7, 8and 9 are details of the manner of relasting the heel part of theshoe.

Fig. 10 shows a sectional view of the clutch mechanism.

The base 1, has mounted thereon the u;- right, or post 2, having a last pin 2 at its upper end, which supports the last-.3, and, at the rear of said post, the base supports the. upright frame 4, which in turn supports the elevation of my novel lOO mounted. Two arms, 7 and 7, are pivoted to said block at 8. The arms are curved inwardly at their shoe engaging ends; the curvature corresponding approximately to the curvature of the toe part of a shoe and secured to the inner faces of said curved portions of the arms are rubber pads, 7 and 7. The arms, 7 and 7 are connected together by a bar 7, and the blocl; 6, has mounted thereon a flat spring 9, which extends forwardly therefrom and which is positioned directly beneath the bar 7 thus holding the said arms in normal horizontal position, but yieldingly, to permit said arms tovbe moved downwardly when pressure is exerted upon them. The block 6, has also mounted thereon a bracket 10 through the end of which an adjustable screw 11, is mounted, and said screw is positioned directly over the bar 7 and forms a stop for limiting the upward movement. of the arms 7 and 7. The block 6,h-as also mounted thereon a pair of thin arms, 12 and 12 (preferably strips,

of spring steel) whichextend forwardly in a planesligh-tly below and closer together than the arms 7' and 7, and said arms, 12 and 12, taper to a blunt point at their shoe engaging ends and terminate sligh-tlyin the rear of the ends of the arms 7 and 7 The arms, 7 and 7, haveertensions 7 extending upwardly from the pivot 8,ancl said extensions are yomed together by the bar 7 to the centre of which a cable connection 13, is attached and said cable passes around pulleys 14, 1'5, and 16 and through the winding drum 17 whichis loosely mounted on shaft 18, and'the' said drum forms the female part of a clutch member 19, said memher being secured to the shaft 18, bya pin and slot connection, and is continuously driven by the gears 20', 21' and pulley 22. On the rear of the post 2, is secured a slideway 23, on which is slid-ably mounted the bloclr '24, and said block is connected by' the link 25, to the disc 26, mounted on the shaft 27, which carries a gear 28, which meshes with the gear 21, and is continuously driven thereby. Secured to said block 24, is the heel relasting device.

Inhthe operation of the machine, the op eratorpulls the block 6, forwardly until the ends of; the arms and 12 are approximately opposite the toe-end portionof the last 3, and. these arms being flexible may be forced toward" the last and thus may be made to conform to the shape of the last and lie closely thereagainst while the shoe forepart is being placed on the last by the operator. The arms 7 and 7 are at this time opposite and slightly forward of the toe portion of the last, as shown in Fig. l, but are spaced apart far enough so as not to interfere with the placing of theforepart of the shoe on the last by the operator, as shown in Fig. 5, after which the arms 7 and rubber pads engage the edge of the sole at the toe portion, as shown in Fig. 6, and,

while the arms are being held in this position, the operator presses the clutch-lever 29, which causes the drum 17 tobe rotated so as to wind up the cable 13, for causing rearward pulling action on the arm 7, which swings the arms 7 and 7, slightly upward to cause thereby separation of the shoe bottom and of the last bottom by said arms.

As soon as the conec-ting bar 7, comes in contact with the stop-screw 11, the upward movement of the arms stops and the block 6, and both sets of arms, start then to move rearwardly;' meanwhile the arms 7 and 7", pull the forepart of the shoe on the last and the arms 12 and 12-, hold the lining in spread out condition and also overcome most of the friction of the last and lining. The

arms 12 and 12, are also intended to spread out the lining preparatory to the start'of the shoe forepart relasting operation. The shoe heel relasting horn 30, is now placed within the heel of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 7,

i and as the block 24, travels.downwardly, the

relasting horn is thereby pulled over the last with the shoe, as shown in 8, and the block 2i, continues moving down until the relasting horn is'pulled out of the shoe and then the shoe relasting operation is completed. In relasting other lrinds of shoes than turn shoes, such as, for example, McKay shoes, 1- preferably engage the shoe with the arms 7 and 7 below the edge of the sole and, to positively lift up the shoe bottom from the last bottom thereby, the top edges of said arms then engage the plane surface of the shoe sole-extension. The said arms may for this purpose be fixed lower, than now shown, on the block 6, or said arms may be shaped so that the surface of the shoe I sole-extension may be thereby engaged uniformly from the ball-line to the-toe portion of the shoe.

necessary to this inventiomstrips of flexible steel 12 and 12 and these strips are substantially shown and described in my previous United States patent, dated hlareh 16, 1915 No. 1,132,479. But, I do not herein claim, of course,,anything disclosed in said patent. Furthermore, the combination, as herein shown and described,qof the post 2, the last pin 2, the block 24, the shoe heel relasting horn 30 and the connections, between the said block and the said horn, constitutes an old and well known combination and I do not claim anything in so far as this combination by itself is'concerned.

The shoe heel relastiughorn 30, may serve to simultaneously'relast both, the heel part and the forepa'rt of such shoes as McKay parts to the toe of the last at the time of the shoe forepart relasting operation, as a proper preparation for the heel relasting operation, and I, therefore, preferably do so in relasting turn shoes.

A very importantfeature, therefore,"of

my invention, and one which is novel per se, so far as I am aware, resides in the adaptation of the arms 7 and 7*, for downward movement to permit the operator to cause the shoe upper to be thereby engaged at the toe. portion, independently of the shoe sole,

for the completion of the, shoe forepart rei lasting operation by firmly setting the shoe upper, and intermediate parts, to the toe portion of the last by moving during this time the said arms rearwardly, by hand or by motive power, against the toe of the shoe and last. This shoe upper setting operation is particularly beneficial when the tip, or the box-toe piece is heavy andby setting the shoe upperon the last, as herein proposed, the shoe upper is thus positively set tofthe last and this operation properly completes the turn'shoe forepart relasting operation.

A further very important and novel feature of this invention, and one which is novel per so far as I am aware, resides in the embodiment in relasting machines of shoe bottom lifting means, whereby the shoe sole, and of course the remainder of the shoe bottom, may be separated from the last bottom to overcome thereby most of the friction at these portions between a last and a shoe during the time of the shoe forepart relasting operation.

iujlditional novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims. I want it well understood that the present novel relasting machine may be employed for relasting all kinds of shoes which require such an operation. The last used at relasting is usually of smaller size than the last upon which the shoe was lasted and the shoe, under this condition, its somewhat loosely to the lines of the last. i

This present invention contemplates re placing in a shoe the same size last as was originally in the shoe and the novel feature of separating the shoe bottom and the last bottom, as alr ady herein noted, is of great importance in making this possible.

I want it well understood that I claim as novel and as within the spirit of my inven tion and of this patent the embodiment, in any apparatus, device or thing adapted to the relasting of the foreparts of shoes, of the elements 7 and 7 directed to that purpose as broadly recited in claims of this patent, whether or not actuating means he used in conjunction therewith, as it is obvious that said arms 7 and 7*, as shown in the herein illustrated machine, can be operated by hand to separate the shoe sole and the last bottom and that said arms can also be operated byhand to relast the shoe forepart.

I do not limit myself to the exact form of the machine herein shown and suiiice it'to say that I wish to be limited by the appended claims only.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, comprising shoe sole engaging means for lifting the shoe sole from the last bottom duringthe time of its shoe forepart relastingoperation and a co-operating last holding pm. 1

2. combination, the elements recited in claim 1 and a shoe heel relasting horn.

3. A shoerelasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, a shoe heelrelasting horn, a single actuating means for said shoe forepart relasting means and for said shoe heel relasting horn and means whereby the operator may cause said shoe forepart relasting means to be actuated by said single actuating means independe'ntly of the actuation of said shoe heel relasting horn.

4;. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, the elements recited in claim 3 and a co operating last holding pin.

5. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, a plurality of shoe relasting means and actnatingmeans for actuating constantly, some of said plurality of shoe rolasting means to expedite the relasting op eration thereby. I

6. A shoe relasting .machine, having, in combination, a shoe heel relasting horn, shoe forepart relasting means, for separating the shoe sole and the last bottom during the time of its shoe forepart relasting operation and a last holding pin.

7. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, the elements recited in claim (land a single power actuating means for said shoe forepart relasting means and for said shoeheel relasting horn.

8. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, comprising means adapted to be placed between a shoe and a last and norms for separating the shoe sole from the last bottom during the time of its shoe forepart relastingoperation.

9. AShoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepartrelasting means, comprising a plurality of elements and so arranged that the shoe sole and the last bottom Will be separated by some of said plu- A shoe relasting machine, having, in.

"iii

rality of elements preparatory to the start of the shoe forepart relasting operation by said shoe forepart relasting means.

10. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, last holding means, shoe '-fore-. part relasting means and actuating means therefor, said shoe forepart relasting means being so arranged that the operator may control the duration of its relasting operation independently of said actuating means. i 11. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, adapted to engage the shoe sole and mounted for movements in a direction to cause-the shoe sole to be thereby lifted from the last bottom and in another direction to cause the shoe forepart to be thereby 'relasted and cooperating last holding means.

12. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, the elements recited in claim 11 and a single actuating means for'aetuat ing said shoe forepart relasting means in both of said directions. I

13. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, for engaging a shoe at its outside portion and constructed and arranged to separate the shoe sole and the last bottom and operating last engaging means.

14. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, constructed and arranged to separate the shoe sole and the last bottom during the time of its relasting operation and means for holding said shoe forepart relasting means yieldingly toward the shoe in the inachine.

15. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, comprising a shoe engaging element to engage the shoe at its outside portion, at one sidethereof, and an additional shoe engaging element to engage the shoe at its outside portion, at the opposite side thereof, and.

arranged to separate the shoe sole and the last bottom, for the purpose described, and co-operating last engagingmeans.

16. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, movable shoe forepart relasting means, whereby the sole and the last bottom may be separated, and limiting means to limit the separating movement of said movable shoe forepart relasting means.

17. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, last holding means, shoe heel relasting means, shoe. forepart relasting means, whereby a shoe may be moved lengthwise of a last, and lining spreading means for smoothing out the shoe lining vpreparatory to the start of the lengthwise movement of the shoe relatively to the last by said shoe forepart relasting means.

18. A shoe relasting machine, having, in combination, shoe forepart relasting means, last holding means, shoe upper setting means and actuating means for said shoe upper setting means, said shoe upper setting I means being adapted to engage the shoe upper at its toe-end, and so arranged that the toe-end of the shoe upper may be thereby firmly set tothe toe-end of the last and so arranged that its action upon the shoe upper under the influence of said actuating means may be terminated independ-ently'of said actuating means.

'19. A shoe machine, consisting of last holding means, shoe upper setting means, adapted to contact with the toe-end of a shoe for performing the completion of the relasting operation of a shoe which has been replaced'on its last and actuating means therefor, said shoe upper setting means being so arranged that its action upon the toeend of the shoe may be terminated independently of said'last holding means and of said actuating means;

20. .A shoe machine, consisting of last holding means, and shoe lifting means adapted'to engage the top plane surface of the extension of the sole'of a shoe on a last,

for lifting thereby the shoe bottom from the last bottom, for the purposes described.

21. A shoe machine, consisting of the elements recited in claim 20, and actuating means for some of said elements.

22. A Shoe machine, consisting of last holding means, and means, adapted to engage the plane surface of the shoe sole next to the shoe upper for separating thereby the shoe bottom and'the last bottom during the time of the shoe forepart relasting operation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

EUCLIDI. LA GHAPELLE. 

